Little Whernside

Sunday, July 15th 2012
13.9 km (8.6 miles) - 3hr 39 mins
Map : OL30 - Yorkshire Dales (Northern & Central)

A reasonable day, although the wind was pretty strong and probably our toughest walk of the year so far. The guide (from www.walkingworld.com) reckoned on a height gain of 330 metres but it was a fairly gentle ascent despite the pretty stiff breeze which we headed into for the outward stretch of this walk.

I have to admit I'd never heard of Little Whernside until I found this walk but it turned into a delightful Sunday afternoon and that added bit of exertion made me feel a little virtuous at the end !!

The walk starts from the car park for Scar House Reservoir  (GR : SE 070766) right ot the very top of Nidderdale.  I have to say it is a pretty popular spot and not what I expected at all.  The first section of the walk is very straightforward as you follow the road that runs along the side of the reservoir until the dam of Angram Reservoir is reached (GR :  SE 044762).  The dam takes you across to the foot of the delightfully named Pudding Hill and it is a pretty straightforward uphill pull moving in the direction of Little Whernside to gain a reasonable amount of height in a fairly short time about 100 metres in just short or a kilometre).  However, instead of dragging all the way to the top a (fairly) faint path is encountered (GR : SE034769)  which heads off to the left and contours around High Pasture and Angram Pasture whilst, at the same time, gently pushing you uphill.

It was on this section that we discovered two geocaches, the first a traditional cache (left a snowman who came from who know where ?) the second containing just a log book - but well done to those who hacked all the way out there just to place a cache ! 

The next section of the walk is pretty easy as the trek around the two pastures mentioned above meets a wall which descends from Great Whernside (GR : SE012768) - turn your back on the "big hill" and follow the wall up Little Whernside. As height was gained so the peat hag got deeper, although to be fair and given the amount of rain that has fallen it wasn't that bad !

Anyway here's a first for this blog !  A video taken opposite the cairn at the top of Little Whernside. I hope it gives you an idea of the scenery and fantastic views available - sorry, about the wind noise, nothing I can do about the howling gale !

From the top of the hill the only way was down ! Again, through peat hag and moss bog to begin with but the going got easier until we met a path (GR SE043782) which dropped back down to Scar House Reservoir and, eventually, the dam and a short stroll back to the car park !

A fanstastic day - some glorious views and whilst my bones are aching it was worth the effort.

As usual a collection of photos taken on the walk.

Let's hope the weather keeps up and that I can keep up with this blog !!

How Steen Gorge & Nidderdale

Friday, 2nd April - 6 Miles

Good Friday and my 55th birthday. Gill and I set of reasonably early and drove the 28 miles up into Nidderdale for this walk that came from Jack Keighley. The book "Walks in the Yorkshire Dales" is an updated version of the one that I have but this walk entitled "The Caves and Gorges of Nidderdale" is included in it. I also had the Ordnance Survey Explorer 26 - Nidderdale with me, The day was less than promising with low cloud and mist when we set off but the countryside that we walked through soon let us forget that, although considering it is the beginning of April is was still pretty nippy. We parked near the small village of Lofthouse (GR 098734).

First on the intinerary was a visit to How Steen Gorge. Again, I have to admit that whilst I'm a born and bred Yorkshireman I've never visited this beauty spot before. It's a pretty hefty £5.50 per. person entrance fee and, if I'm honest, not worth it !! Why do we seem to charge so much for simple pleasures in this country ? Surely one of the pleasures of walking it that it costs nothing - or, are my Yorkshire instincts getting the better of me! Anyway, we paid up and tried to spend as long as possible in the gorge !

The walk proper can only be described as a pretty strenuous six miles. In particular the pull from How Steen up to the village of Middlesmoor and the stretch at the half way point by Manchester Hole really got the lungs and calves screaming for some respite ! Of course the pay back was some pretty stunning views along Nidderdale. Sadly, these probably don't come out too well in the photos as the weather was not conducive to photography.

After passing through Middlesmoor the walk hugs the side of the valley, pretty high up, until you drop down to the floor of the valley at Limley Farm. Just past the farm are the entrances to a couple of caves - I couldn't resist going down into Manchester Hole (GR: 101763), although the flowers laid at the entrance suggest that a full descent may be more dangerous than messing about in the entrance as I did. After the steep climb just after the pothole the return journey to Lofthouse is via. the Nidderdale Way, although it was a little muddy after the rain we've had recently. The final section takes you past Lofthouse and Middlesmoore Cricket ground - surely one of the smallest cricket grounds I've ever seen. I think that batsmen will certainly have the advantage, even though there is a pretty steep slope on one side of the wicket !

Despite the overcast and murky conditions this was a fantastic morning out in the countryside and well worth the drive! That's the first six miles of the month as Gill and I try to walk a "Marathon a Month" !

Photos of the walk are available from this link